My association (Canadian Group Insurance Brokers – CGIB.CA) is holding a seminar for brokers, insurers and employers on Wednesday February 28th from 8 am until noon in Vaughan.  Tickets are $175 but FREE to Mainstay clients.  We have a limited number of seats available, so if you are interested in attending, please send me an e-mail before THIS Friday at 5pm to hold a spot.  Details are below…

Employees are asking employers questions when; a claim is not paid, a generic drugs is substituted for brand, Prior Authorization questions are asked, there are delays in dispensing their drugs, or they are told that drugs will only be paid for and dispensed by certain pharmacies.

Clients are often faced with an employee that says “you can’t make me take these pills, or tell me where to shop”. We’ll help provide you with the right answer to share that will help to deal with those conversations quickly and efficiently.  The presentations also cover; navigating the “system” to help support staff, identifying tools that are available to assist employees, as well as patient support programs that can improve health outcomes.

Information and directions are below.  But let us know if you’re interested, and we’ll book a spot at no charge to you.

http://www.cvent.com/d/9tqdw7

We have had some feedback from clients (very few) that their employees with dependent children age 24 and under are having issues with the new OHIP+ program.  This issue is caused when someone under age 25 is using what is called an EAP drug.  In the past, these drugs would normally be covered by the private employer benefit plan. The province is now covering this with OHIP+ as of January 1st, 2018.  This means that the private plans will NOT pay for these drugs until the province has declined coverage.

There is more information on the provincial website link below, as well as the list of the over 1000 EAP Drug ID Numbers (DINS) that need special application forms completed…

http://health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/drugs/eap_criteria.aspx

http://health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/drugs/docs/eap_dins_list.xlsx

Since Ontario rolled out its new pharmacare program for youth on Jan. 1, multiple media reports have detailed the challenges faced by some people in transitioning to public drug coverage from their private plan.

Employers will see private drug plan costs rise by about six per cent annually over the next five years, according to a prediction by a health-care research company.

Brad Millson, principal of health access and outcomes at IQVIA, presented the results of his firm’s 2017-21 forecast, produced in partnership with Innovative Medicines Canada, at Benefits Canada’s 2017 Face-to-Face Drug Plan Management forum on Dec. 14.

Close on the heels of the sweeping changes brought about by Bill 148, the Ontario government has enacted another set of changes to Ontario’s employment laws. Bill 177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017, is omnibus legislation that affects a number of Ontario statutes, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), as well as transitional updates to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA).

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

excerpt from Benefits and Pension Monitor – ONLINE

The average cost increases for employer-sponsored health-care plans are set to increase at a faster rate than inflation in 2018, according to a new report by Aon…

…Canada is not too far behind with an expected six per cent rise in costs for extended health-care plans. After inflation of 2.1 per cent, the projected cost increase is 3.9 per cent. That’s compared to an overall cost increase of eight per cent in 2017 and a net rise of 6.1 per cent. The report notes this increase is currently trending lower relative to the rest of North America and the world, reversing a multi-year trend.

As the new rules around employment insurance benefits took effect on Sunday, one of the big changes is the option to extend parental benefits to 18 months.